PhD-position at the Department of Clinical Science

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Testo originale dell'annuncio (in inglese)

Become a PhD-candidate at UiB and contribute to groundbreaking research on childhood obesity PhD-position at the Department of Clinical Science UiB - Knowledge that shapes society UiB shall be among Europe's leading universities, internationally recognized for high quality in research and education. As a societal institution, we shall contribute to sustainable and democratic development and be an attractive and inclusive place to study and work. PhD position The Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Science (K2), is offering a full-time PhD-position for a duration of three (3) years. The position is part of the projects “Genetic Foundations of Appetite and Obesity in Early Life” and “Identification of factors affecting early growth to reveal biological mechanisms that may be targeted to prevent later obesity and diabetes” at the Mohn Research Center for Diabetes Precision Medicine (PRECISE-DIA)”, funded by the University of Bergen. About the project Childhood obesity is a growing global health concern, with strong evidence pointing to genetic predisposition as a key factor in individual susceptibility to an increasingly obesogenic environment. Our team aims to uncover the genetic architecture underlying weight gain, appetite, and satiety regulation from infancy through adolescence and use this knowledge to understand the life-long impact of these early-life factors on metabolic health and diabetes. The candidate will be given the opportunity to work with data from the uniquely rich Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) with detailed information from genomics, phenotypic, and questionnaire-derived data from approximately hundred thousand pregnancies (fhi.no/en/ch/studies/moba). The parents and their children in MoBa have been followed since their inclusion in the study (recruitment between 1999 to 2008) offering unique opportunities to study the life-course of disease and health development across two generations. These results will be combined with data from international collaborations with a broad ethnic representation to enable the discovery of both common and rare genetic variants influencing early-life body composition, eating behaviour across the life-course, and life-time health. The project will be performed at the Mohn Research Center for Diabetes Precision Medicine (PRECISE-DIA) (uib.no/en/diabetes) located at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway Bergen, Norway. The candidate will work in a cross-disciplinary (medicine, genetics, statistics, epidemiology, cell biology, informatics) and highly internationally oriented team. We have a strong focus on the personal development of the candidate and will provide guidance and training both within the core team and through formalized co-supervision from international collaborators. The candidate will be given the opportunity to conduct research exchanges abroad. Work tasks Areas of work will include to Identify early-life-trajectories (both genetic and non-genetic factors) that characterize both healthy and unhealthy weight- and life development. Study the impact of both rare (NGS-data) and common variation (GWAS) on growth development and eating behaviour Participate in international collaborative work on early life genetics Identify genetic effects that have different properties when inherited from the mother compared to the father – so called parent-of-origin effects. Participate in cross-disciplinary research work in the team and centre Conduct research exchange abroad Qualifications and personal qualities: The applicant must possess a Master`s degree or an equivalent in the field of molecular genetics, medicine, genetic epidemiology, statistical genetics, medical data science, or bioinformatics. The applicants must also provide an accompanying text where they describe their research interest and motivation for the project. Here they must: Demonstrate a strong interest in the project an